Lomo-135BC
LOMO-135BC and LOMO-135M are Soviet scale-focusing cameras manufactured by the LOMO plant, equipped with a spring drive that provides automatic shutter cocking and film rewinding.
LOMO-135BC was produced from 1975 to 1982 at the LOMO factory. The LOMO-135M camera is very similar to LOMO-135BC and was also produced at LOMO from 1981 to 1984. The differences between these cameras are very slight, so it makes sense to combine the reviews of these cameras into one.
Lomo-135BC Specifications
- Type: 35mm scale-focusing camera
- Manufacturer: LOMO plant
- Production period: from 1975 to 1982
- Format: 24x36cm on 135 film
- Lens mount: fixed lens
- Lens: Industar-73 2.8/40
- Shutter: leaf shutter with shutter speeds from 1/15 to 1/250 sec. and B
- Viewfinder: optical parallax viewfinder with illuminated frames and parallax compensation
- Flash sync: “X” socket, sync at any shutter speed.
- Selftimer: mechanical
- Weight: 490 grams
Lomo-135BC is one of the simplest cameras that were produced in large numbers at the LOMO factory. The camera did not have a rangefinder or a mirror mechanism, which means focusing was carried out using the distance scale. To simplify focusing, you can also use a separate rangefinder, such as Blik, which was also produced at the LOMO factory.
The camera has a rather strange and unusual mechanism for cocking the shutter and rewinding the film. First, you need to turn the knob at the top and start the mechanism spring. After that, you can shoot 8 frames with a maximum shooting frequency of 3 frames per second.
The camera was equipped with a non-replaceable Industar-73 2.8/40 lens. As mentioned above, focusing was carried out using the distance scale or symbol scale, as on the Smena 8m or Smena Symbol cameras.
Unlike previous cameras from LOMO, the lens was made not according to the Triplet scheme, but according to the Tessar scheme. The lens is very sharp and contrasty, especially for such an inexpensive camera. The lens has 10 aperture blades and this helps to create very beautiful bokeh on photos.
The camera was equipped with a leaf shutter with shutter speeds of 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, and B. Most of the controls are located around the lens, as on the first Smena or Lubitel cameras.
LOMO-135BC is made of metal and covered with leatherette. On the upper part is located not only the film advance knob but also the shutter button and the small frame counter window. The film rewind lever and the cold shoe are located on the bottom of the camera, which is very unusual.
Conclusion
The LOMO-135BC camera is a very unusual camera with an unusual mechanism not only for taking photos but also for loading film. This camera will be quite an unusual and strange device for collection.
